Hargitay also helped draw attention to the issue among lawmakers (AP file photo)
More than 250 convictions have emerged from a long-running investigation into thousands of sexual assault cases in Detroit, Michigan, where evidence had remained untested for decades. The Detroit Sexual Assault Kit Project had secured 263 convictions by April 2025, while investigations and prosecutions were still continuing, according to the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office. American actress Mariska Hargitay , best known for her role as detective Olivia Benson in Law & Order: SVU, was among those who helped fund and support the effort.
The project began in 2009, when authorities discovered 11,341 sexual assault evidence kits inside a Detroit Police Department warehouse. Michigan, the kits related to cases dating from 1984 to 2009, but none had been submitted for testing, according to According to Wayne County. The discovery meant that evidence collected over 25 years was still awaiting examination. In a 2024 interview featured on the Dateline: True Crime Weekly podcast, Worthy recalled asking Hargitay to come to Detroit after they had appeared before lawmakers. Which reported on the podcast in August 2024, testing a single kit could cost between $1,200 and $1,500, according to the Los Angeles Times. With 11,341 kits awaiting examination, the authorities needed millions of dollars.
“She said she would, and she did,” Worthy said. Hargitay’s presence helped bring attention to the issue and encouraged political support for reforms, according to the prosecutor. “And I am telling you, that legislation that helped us crack this problem in Michigan sailed through,” Worthy recalled.
Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy took responsibility for addressing the backlog. However, examining such a large number of kits required considerable funding, which was difficult to secure at the time. Detroit was facing serious financial problems, and the county administration did not initially provide the money needed for the project. Worthy began approaching organisations and private donors for assistance. What followed was a fundraising effort involving government agencies, charitable foundations and individuals from across the United States and abroad. Hargitay’s Joyful Heart Foundation eventually became one of the organisations supporting the initiative. The actress subsequently attended a breakfast organised for legislators whom Worthy had struggled to reach. One of the biggest challenges was the cost of examining the evidence.